Robina Muqimyar

Robina Jalali, also known as Robina Muqimyar, was born on July 3, 1986, in Kabul, Afghanistan. She became well-known as an Olympic athlete who represented Afghanistan at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and in many international events. She competed in the 100-meter sprint under the name Muqimyar.

She was one of the first two women ever to represent Afghanistan at the Olympic Games, competing along with judoka Friba Rezayee at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She stood out because she ran while wearing the hijab, the traditional Muslim woman's head covering.

Robina grew up in a family of nine children, with seven girls and two boys. During the time when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, girls were not allowed to go to school, so she was home-schooled. After 2001, when things changed, she was able to attend school. She has talked about how difficult life was for girls under the Taliban, saying there was nothing for them to do except stay at home. Later, she even ran for a seat in Afghanistan's parliament, called the Wolesi Jirga, using her family name, Jalali.

2004 Olympics

Robina Muqimyar competed in the women's 100-meter sprint at the 2004 Olympics. She finished seventh in her heat with a time of 14.14 seconds. She was 17 years old at the time and wore a T-shirt and long green track pants for the race. The race was won by Veronica Campbell from Jamaica with a time of 11.17 seconds. She was 0.15 seconds faster than Fartun Abukar Omar from Somalia.

2008 Olympics

Robina Muqimyar was not originally planned to compete in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She joined Afghanistan's delegation after another runner, Mehboba Ahdyar, left to seek political asylum in Norway. Robina ran the 100 metres event at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In her first heat, she finished eighth and last with a time of 14.80 seconds and did not move on to the next round.

The Guardian praised her, calling her a true example of the Olympic spirit. They wrote, "The Olympic rings are a well-known symbol, but there are still athletes who show what the Olympics are really about. Robina, along with others like a Brazilian gymnast from the ghetto and an Ecuadorean walker who walked a long distance after winning a gold medal, may not all win, but they all deserve respect."

Political career

Robina Muqimyar ran for a seat in Afghanistan's parliament in September 2010. She wanted to help make sure women and young people had equal rights and to bring more sports programs to schools. However, she did not win that election.

In 2019, she did become a member of parliament. But her time in office ended when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021. After that, there has been no information about where she is.